About 25,000 new plastic bags on average are used daily in the Maldives since an MVR 2 per bag fee came into force, statistics have shown.
There are more than 94,000 households in the Maldives (including expatriate residences) and statistics show that more than 100 million plastic bags are imported to the country annually.
But a much lower number of bags are used daily, according to figures from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).
Since an MVR 2 per plastic bag fee came into force on April 18 this year, an income of MVR 50,223 was collected on average per day by the end of September. That is a total of MVR 8.3 million.
MIRA's records show that revenue from the plastic bag fee was highest in July with MVR 4.1 million collected during the month.
The large increase was due to some taxpayers that submit statements every three months paying the second quarter fees in July.
The waste management law passed in December last year states that businesses must charge MVR 2 at the point of sale from every plastic bag sold or provided for free to customers. The fee must then be paid to MIRA.
